Boyd Mounds Site Courtesy of Natchez Trace Parkway, National Park Service

Most known burial mounds in Mississippi date to the Middle Woodland
times (circa 100 B.C. to 400 A.D.). However, the six small burial
mounds at the Boyd site were built much later, during the Late
Woodland and Early Mississippian periods (circa 800 to 1100 A.D.
). One of these mounds, Mound 2, is situated in a clearing adjacent
to the parking area and is accessible to visitors. Several of
the mounds, including Mound 2, were excavated by the National
Park Service in 1964.
The elongated Mound 2 issome 110 feet long by 60 feet wide and four
feet high. Excavation revealed that it is actually three mounds
in one: initially, two mounds were built side by side, then both
were covered with more earth to create a single oblong, finished
mound. The remains of 41 individuals were found in Mound 2, but
there were relatively few accompanying artifacts. Different pottery
types found in separate areas of this compound mound indicate that
it was constructed in two phases: the first episode during the Late
Woodland period and the second, after a considerable length of time,
during the Mississippian period.

Boyd Mounds Site is located northeast of Jackson, Mississippi,
on the Natchez Trace Parkway (milepost 106.9), approximately six
miles east of the I-55 interchange. Open to the public
daily, free of charge.